The present invention is directed, in general, to telecommunications and, more specifically, to a system and method for providing advanced calling features, such as call forwarding and call blocking, to a packet network-based telephone, such as an Internet telephone, and a packet network that employs the system or the method.
Call forwarding and call blocking are well known telephony services provided to subscribers by a local exchange carrier in circuit switched networks. Traditionally, call forwarding allows a subscriber (or user) selectively to xe2x80x9cprogramxe2x80x9d an incoming call to be forwarded to another communication device; call blocking, on the other hand, prevents an incoming or outgoing call from being completed.
As previously mentioned, call forwarding is a generally recognized calling feature provided in circuit switched networks and, as such, has been the subject of many prior art references. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,384, entitled xe2x80x9cPersonalized Automatic Call Routing,xe2x80x9d by Sanford J. Morganstein, issued on Jun. 25, 1991, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system where the subscriber can preprogram the communication system to provide personalized voice responses and alternate destinations to assist the calling party in completing the call. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,691, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Call Routing in Switched Digital Networks Using Call Control Tables,xe2x80x9d by Steven Price, et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, provides tables of call control information to facilitate the routing of calls in a switched digital network.
Regarding call blocking features, call blocking features have also been the subject of prior art references. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,388, entitled xe2x80x9cMethod and Apparatus for Selectively Blocking Incoming Telephone Calls,xe2x80x9d by James C. Reed, et al., issued on Nov. 14, 1995, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a system that allows a subscriber to selectively block incoming calls for selected time periods or during programmed time intervals to screen out unwanted calls from a particular caller or location. Obviously, the aforementioned U.S. patents are only examples of references directed to telephony services in circuit switched networks.
Internet telephony applications are becoming an attractive alternate for conventional telephony services, primarily because of the promise of substantial reduction in communication costs. There are currently no long-distance charges associated with Internet telephony. Furthermore, there are a large number of applications and new multimedia capabilities available on the World Wide Web. The Internet xe2x80x9ctelephonexe2x80x9d with a computing device, e.g., a personal computer, often employing a packet-based technology, provides the caller with a greater flexibility and control as opposed to the traditional telephone devices.
I have recognized that communication networks employing a packet-based technology, e.g., the Internet, provide challenges not readily apparent in circuit switched networks. For instance, the dynamic addressing techniques employed in packet networks are very different than the routing strategies employed in circuit switched networks. As a result, applying call forwarding and call blocking features to packet networks involves call processing techniques not presently available. The present invention provides, for use with a user communication device (UCD) that communicates over a packet network, such as an Internet telephone, systems for providing call processing features (e.g., call forwarding or call blocking) to the UCD. The present invention therefore adapts call processing techniques employed in circuit switching systems to packet-based networks. In one embodiment, the present invention: (1) determines that a call composed of a stream of continuous media communication packets and associated with the UCD requires a specified alternative processing and (2) causes the continuous media communication data packets associated with the call to be processed in accordance with the specified alternative processing.
The call forwarding system or the call blocking system may be directly connectible with the UCD or may be directly connectible with a point of presence (POP) of the packet network (such as an Internet Service Provider, or ISP). xe2x80x9cDirectly connectible,xe2x80x9d for purposes of the present invention, is defined as being directly associated with or a part of For example, one or both of the systems may be in a user""s telephone or computer UCD. One or both of the systems may be at the user""s ISP, such that they may operate even when the user""s UCD is not connected to the packet network.
In one embodiment, the call forwarding system stores call forwarding criteria and forwards incoming calls based on the call forwarding criteria. In one embodiment, the call blocking system receives information pertaining to a potential call with another party and blocks completion of the potential call based on a comparison of stored call blocking criteria with the information.